I’ve mentioned in a previous post how well hops bring out the heat in spicy foods. The next installment of VeganMofo describes an experiment that pushed the limits of heat and hops by using extracted hop oils in an incredibly spicy hot sauce. I couldn’t be happier with the results, but I should warn you – this sauce is *VERY* spicy. I suppose you could cut back on the number of habaneros or use another pepper if you want a less severe tush torching.

The first step in making this recipe has to be done a few days in advance. Using the logic behind extracting oil from the hop plant’s cousin (marijuana), I soaked hops in vodka for about a week before making the sauce. After doing some homework on pot brownie recipes I came up with a ratio of half a gram of hops for every ounce of vodka, which is roughly 3 grams of hops (I used chinook) in 1/3 cup of vodka. Put the hops in an air-tight glass container, pour the vodka over the hops (making sure the hops are completely submerged), close the container and let this sit at room temperature in a dark place [hop + sunlight = skunked] for at least 3 days. Once you are ready to make the sauce, drain the vodka through a strainer and discard the hops.

I picked my habaneros from my garden and froze a bunch. I don’t have any other evidence to support this, but I found that I didn’t get the normal itchiness and burning in my hands from handling these peppers. I’m guessing here, but it seems like freezing the peppers maybe solidifies the oils that irritate your skin, which makes them easier to work with. Anyway, everything in this recipe goes kind of fast, so, before you get started, be sure to have the shallots, garlic, peppers and tomatoes chopped and ready to go. Also, I used every part of the habanero. If you want to cool it down a bit, remove the seeds from the peppers.

This will create a lot of very spicy tear-gas-like fumes, so it’s best to cook outside. Otherwise, ventilate your kitchen as best you can. Heat a cast iron Dutch oven or deep pan. Add the mustard seeds and toast for a few minutes. When the seeds begin to pop, add the oil, shallots and garlic. Coat the shallots and garlic well and saute for about 10 minutes. Next, add the peppers and saute for a minute or two.

Now, prepare for the pyrotechnics. Add the hop vodka. Depending on what you are cooking on, this may immediately ignite into a huge flame. If not, use a long match stick and ignite the vodka. I tried to take a picture of the flame, but for some reason my camera just couldn’t capture it. Anyway, once the flame has died down, mix in the tomatoes and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.

Add some salt and pepper to the mixture, then transfer to a blender along with the apple cider vinegar. Blend until very smooth.

This will make enough sauce to last a very long time. To make the rice bowl, over a bed of brown rice (short grain gaba brown – the best!) I added sauted kale (shredded into bite size pieces) and pan fried tofu (something firm and good like SoyBoy, never that disgusting Nasoya garbage). Mix in as much of the sauce that you think you can handle. I used about 3 tablespoons and put the rest in a container in the fridge. Pair the rice bowl with hoppy beer, like Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA.

I feel the experiment was a success. Not only did the hops bring out some intense heat, the aroma of the sauce has a touch of citrusy hop. The flavors of the sauce are amazing, if you can take the heat. I definitely see using this sauce for many recipes in the future.

Last weekend, my wife and I harvested the first batch of Brussels sprouts from our community garden plot. In a very corny way, we felt somewhat proud carrying the stalk of sprouts back to our house. It was essentially the vegan version of bagging a buck. Seriously, look at this beauty!

When we got our prize back to the kitchen, we immediately got to work “dressing” it, removing all of the leaves (de-stemmed, chopped, and stored in the freezer to be used like collard greens) and pulling the little sprouts from the stalk.

Like most people, I grew up thinking Brussels sprouts were the most disgusting thing ever created. Later in life I gave them another chance, as a vegetable among others being roasted. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I thoroughly enjoyed them and, having learned a bit more about proper preparation, have come to like them in many forms.

Appropriately I wanted to make something Belgian with these sprouts of Brussels. In the past, I’ve made a few attempts at a veganized Flemish beef stew called Vlaamse Stoofkarbonaden. Wikipedia describes this as “a Flemish beef stew, similar to the French Beef Bourguignon, but made with beer instead of red wine.” I’ve tried to veganize a few recipes I’ve found online, subbing beef with seitan. They’ve come out OK, but the traditional recipes aren’t much more than broth and meat. I decided I’d make a new, modified version that had a healthy dose of hearty root vegetables and, of course, Brussels sprouts. To bring out the rich flavors of the vegetables, I roasted them before adding to the stew. Before preparing the vegetables, however, you’ll want to get started on the “beef.”

Mix all of the wet ingredients for the seitan together and blend until smooth. Mix together the dry ingredients, then add the wet to form a ball. It should be firm, but not too firm. A little mushy, but not sticking to your hands. Heat a little oil in a cast iron Dutch oven, then cook the seitan a few minutes on each side, just enough to lightly brown. Set aside.

To make the cooking broth, heat a little more oil in the Dutch oven, then saute the onion for about 15 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the remaining ingredients for the cooking broth and bring to a boil. Transfer the seitan back into the broth, reduce heat to the point where the broth is barely bubbling. Partially cover the Dutch oven. Cook for 1.5 hours, flipping the seitan every 30 minutes.

While the seitan is cooking, start roasting some vegetables. I used beets, rutabaga, turnips, carrots, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts and a head of garlic. Feel free to changes this, based on your preferences. Chop the roots into chunks, place everything into an oiled baking pan, toss with some more olive oil, lots of black pepper and a few dashes of smoked paprika. Place in the oven at 450 for about 45 minutes, or until the roots are soft. Be careful not to burn the sprouts!

Once the seitan is ready, remove from the Dutch oven and let it cool. Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients from the stew sauce, add to the remaining broth, onions and carrots in the Dutch oven and blend until liquefied. Bring the stew sauce to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes. As it cooks, the alcohol will cook off and the aroma will become more pleasant. Cut the beef into large chunks (about 1″) and add to the stew sauce, along with about 2-3 cups of the roasted vegetables. Cook for a few more minutes, then serve with a nice Belgian strong dark ale.

I paired this dish with a 2.5 year-old bottle of Delirium Nocturnum from my cellar, which complimented the meal perfectly. A very rich and hearty stew, with a sweet dark fruit and burnt sugar flavor. Lots of earthy, slightly bitter flavors came through with the roasted vegetables, that went nicely with the sweetness of the molasses and beer.

I should point out that the recipes you will find for this stew often say to add a slice of bread with mustard on it to the meat (odd I know). Anyway, with all of the starchy vegetables, I didn’t feel it needed the bread as a binder. I did add some mustard powder to the stew sauce to get those flavors, though.

I think the modified version came out great, with much more going on than the others I’ve made. Give I try – it’s worth the effort.

Stone IRS is like no other beer. In the opinion of VeganBrew, hands down, the best beer on the planet. I do not say this without due consideration of the “best beers of the world” from sites like BeerAdvocate.com and Ratebeer.com. A king’s ransom has been spent drinking through those lists and, more often than not, Stone IRS would have been preferred. It’s uniquely flavorful and complex, yet balanced and incredibly drinkable…and the best part, it’s created by a vegan brewer: former Stone brewmaster Lee Chase.

Over the past few years, I’ve made it my mission to collect a bottle from each year’s release of Stone IRS. After a friend secured the last bottle I needed to complete the vertical (2001) on ebay a few months back, I decided it was time to open a decade worth of this amazing beer. On October 2nd Kevin came up to Albany and the 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 bottles of Stone IRS were opened and enjoyed with friends.

The bottles were all opened at the same time and about 2 ounces of each year was poured into 11 cups labeled with the appropriate year. Unfortunately, we did not have enough glassware to use real glasses, so we had to use plastic cups. However, since all of the beers are pitch black, this didn’t change the experience much.

It was very interesting to see how the years (and storage) changed this beer. Without a doubt, the 2001 was the year favored by everyone. The chocolate and roastyness shined through and the bitterness was mellowed and complimented by the sherry notes and the sweetness of the beer. I assume this bottle was also the beer that was handled the best. I’m fairly certain it was purchased at the Stone Winter Storm the year before, which means it was stored in absolute perfect aging conditions at the brewery most of its life. Anyway, it was fantastic, while the 2002 was terrible – seemed to be infected. The 2006 had some serious oxidation problems, which made it taste like a moldy basement. The others had a lot of the awesome flavors found in the 2001, just a bit more muted. Nonetheless, an epic tasting, which ended with a few other guest bottles (a growler of Ithaca Outdoor Harvest Ale, a bottle of Old Rasputin XII Kevin brought up, a bottle of Hair of the Dog Cherry Adam from the Wood and a bottle of Captain Lawrence Barrel Select). Also, we mixed in two bottles of the Stone IRS clone Kev and I brewed last year, which seemed to be enjoyed just as much as the original.

So, on to the food (after all, this is the Vegan Month of Food!!)…October 2nd also happens to be Mohandas Gandhi’s birthday, World Farm Animal Day and the start of Vegetarian Awareness Month. To commemorate the day and to make the omnivores who joined us more aware of the deliciousness of vegan food, Kev and I cooked up some good eats to pair with the decade (+1) o’ Imperial Stout. First, we made up some Gardein Beefless Tips in the porter-bourbon sauce from this recipe.

Next, made up the Apple and Squash Risotto recipe from Mac & Cheese, subbing the wine with Unibroue Ephemere (used for the last broth addition). All served up with a side of freshly harvested kale, sauteed in garlic and olive oil.

The food came out excellent, with many compliments from the non-vegans at the table. The meal provided a nice heartiness that helped us make it through the tasting fairly sober. The porter-bourbon sauce added a rich punch to the beefless tips and the Ephemere risotto was a very pleasant compliment of sweetness and stick-to-your-ribs starch.

Amazing beer, great food, good times. Maybe we’ll have to do something similar for a 12.12.12 Vertical Epic tasting?

Here we are: our first entry as first-timers in Vegan MoFo and personally my first post in a long while (Brett is the far better brewer and food-creator.)

This weekend I was making some vegan beer chili (we’ll cover this later in the week) and wanted to add a little something to punch up the flavor. Lots of chili recipes tend to include bacon, and I had no suitable bacon replacements in the house. Scanning my shelf o’ goodies, I spotted a small tub of Organic Just Tomatoes Bits that I have not used in a while. If you are not familiar with their products – they essentially have a whole line of tubs full of dried fruits & vegetables. You can find them at pretty much any co-op or natural foods store. I figured I’d experiment to see how they’d turn out if I bacon-bit-ized a scoop full of them to add to the chili.

Just Tomatoes Bacon Bits

1/2 C Just Tomatoes Bits

1 tsp high quality extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs liquid smoke

1 tsp tamari

Simple instructions: Add the olive oil to a pan over medium heat; Add Just Tomatoes Bits so they are coated well in the oil (lots of stirring); Add the liquid smoke and tamari almost immediately. The key is to keep an eye on it and stir often. They can easily burn if you get lazy (obviously I learned that lesson the hard way.) It only takes a few minutes (5 for me; will vary depending on your cookware & stovetop.) I was looking to brown the bits – but not make crispy.

Add some more oil if you desire – I think it can only help give it a bit of “greasiness.”

After on Left; Before on Right

I thought these turned out pretty awesome. They ended up giving the chili an extra oomph I was looking for, though I wish I had made & added more to that. I can see other uses in the future too – these would be perfect as a topping on some Sunday brunch tofu scramble as an alternative to the tempeh bacon we’re all too often accustomed to.

The warm, sunny days we had in the Northeast this summer resulted in very happy hop plants. I’ve picked several pounds of crystal, centennial and chinook hops from the plants in my community garden and have a fair amount of nugget waiting to be picked. Without a doubt the best year yet, both in terms of quantity and quality. Now the challenge will be using them up!

Before I picked and dried the hops, I decided I would make another attempt at a wet hop/fresh hop beer with the freshly picked chinooks and crystals. Commercial examples of wet hop beers have been popping up over the years, but since they can only be brewed this time of year and take a significant amount of hops that have to be used very quickly, it’s not too often that you will find one on tap at your local pub. Like most things related to hops (and craft beer in general), Sierra Nevada is the originator of the style. Without a doubt, the best I’ve had is the Estate Ale – made with organically grown hops and barley grown at the brewery. Taking a few tips from an interview with Brewmaster Steve Dresler on the Brewing Network – including the 5 to 1 ratio of wet to dry hops – I came up with the following recipe. I only used the wet hops, picked about an hour before brewing, for the late additions in the kettle. I stuffed them into cheesecloth sacks and used some stainless steel washers to weigh them down (like this), which is quite the challenge with so many whole leaf hops. Also, I realize I used a fairly dark crystal malt (120L), which is unusual for an IPA. It was the only organic crystal malt I had on hand. I used just a touch for coloring, which I think worked out fine.

Place the crystal malt in a grain sack and steep in 6.5 gallons of 150 degree water for approximately 20 minutes. Bring the water up to 170, remove the grains, then bring water to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the DME and sugar, then return to heat. When wort reaches a boil, begin adding hops as indicated above. When the boil is complete, transfer 5 gallons to the fermenter and chill to 65 , pitch yeast, ferment at 68 for about one week. At this point I added half of the dry hops for a week, filtered, then added the other half of the dry hops to the keg after it carbonated. Alternatively, you can just add all of the dry hops and condition for another week or two.

I think this was about as fresh as it comes. Bursting with “chewy” (like biting into a hop cone, without the bitterness) wet hop flavor and aroma. I feel it was in large part due to the chinooks, which were dripping with oil when they came off of the vine. Chinooks are rarely considered for more than bittering in recipe formulation and I think that is a mistake, especially when you want a fresh, citrusy flavor and aroma. They pack quite a punch and the crystals give the beer a subtle, yet very nice earthy/floral touch. I was very happy with the results and received a lot of positive feedback from friends; however, it did not place in the National Organic Brewing Challenge. Still waiting for the score sheets – I’ll update with judge comments when I get them. Regardless, I loved the beer and kicked the keg in just a few days (sharing with friends, of course). Can’t wait to brew again next year.

Update: Scored a 31 in the Organic Brewing Challenge. Not too bad I guess, considering the third place winner for the category (Specialty Beer, Category 23) scored a 34. The judges comments were generally favorable, with the only flaw being that it wasn’t bitter enough for an IPA. I would definitely agree with that. Nowadays, I tend to brew hoppy beers with the focus being more on the flavor and aroma hops than on the bittering hops. Also, in the case of homegrown hops, it’s difficult to get the IBUs down during the recipe formulation. Anyway, one judge mentioned that if the beer were entered as an American Pale Ale, it would have done far better. I’ll give it a shot as an APA in the Knickerbocker Battle of the Brews.

Inspired by the amazing Tofurky Beer Brats, I have been on a quest to create a good homemade brat using Isa’s method for making sausages. It took a few attempts to get the spices right, but I think the recipe that follows is pretty solid. I’ve even had a few meat eaters tell me the brats are tasty. Previous attempts were over spiced (particularly with caraway) or too fluffy from over carbonated beer. It’s best to use small amounts of the stronger spices and flat or lightly carbonated beer. Also, in the process I learned fat is key. Although I don’t have any desire to replicate meat grossness, a meat analogue recipe without lots of fat would be like a cake recipe without sugar. What’s the point? Don’t be afraid of the oil and Earth Balance. I actually think this recipe could be improved with a little more of each.

It’s hop harvest time, so I went with a beer brewed with wet hops – fresh from the vine, no drying, right into the kettle. There are several good wet hopped beers out there, but I went with one I find to be exceptionally tasty, Southern Tier Harvest. As a wet-hopped ESB the “grassy” freshness of the hops are front and center, without the harsher bitterness of an IPA. This works well when cooking with beer. More about wet hop beers soon, as I have one of my own fermenting right now.

It’s worth noting, I’ve also found German weizen beers (e.g., Pinkus Hefeweizen) and hoppy beers that aren’t very bitter (e.g., Troegs Pale Ale) work well. Just be sure to let the beer sit out for a while to flatten. Anyway, onto the recipe.

Blend the lentils, beer, oil, Bragg’s, liquid smoke and spices together until the lentils are near liquefied. In a separate bowl, mix together the gluten and the nutritional yeast. Mix the wet and the dry ingredients together to form a firm ball. Tear into 6 even pieces, mold into about 4″ long sausages and wrap each in aluminum foil, tightly twisting the ends. Steam for 40 minutes. When the sausages have finished steaming, unwrap and coat in the melted Earth Balance, then grill for a few minutes on each side.

I served this batch with some kale harvested from our garden (braised with a few ounces of the beer) and some grilled corn from our CSA. Also, poured a Dijon mustard-nutritional yeast sauce over the brats (B-12 Tamari Dijon sauce from the Candle Cafe cookbook). Everything paired wonderfully with the beer. Hearty, yet full of flavor from the recently-harvested ingredients. It was Labor Day when I made this meal and it felt appropriate for the unofficial end of summer.

I was lucky enough to get an early start with the now coveted Citra hop. Immediately after Sierra Nevada released the details of its Torpedo Ale, I began a search to find a hop supplier that had any Citras that weren’t sent over to Sierra Nevada. Late in the season, I was able to find some of the 2008 crop through Hops2U. I thought the anticipated tropical flavors would work well in a refreshing summer wheat. Additionally, this clean, light-bodied style of beer lends itself nicely to hop experimentation, as it allows the hop character to shine through. I brewed up a 5 gallon batch of all-Citra wheat, which went incredibly well…up until the final step. During the force-carbonation of the beer in the keezer, one of the quick releases was loose on the keg post. Sadly, by the time I had realized this, the entire batch had emptied into the bottom of my freezer. Smelled like heaven, tasted great, but all went down the drain.

Soon after losing my first beer brewed with Citra, I did make another – a session pale that also had a nice amount of Simcoe in it (recipe here). That came out great, but I couldn’t quite tease out the Citra. With the recent flood of Citra hops in the homebrew market, I decided to re-brew the wheat to see what this hop is all about. I had already invested a full day of my time in the previous all-grain batch, so I went with extract on the second attempt to save some time. Here is the recipe:

Ferment at 65. At the end of primary fermentation, add dry hops. Let it sit on the hops for 5 -7 days, then bottle or keg.

Very simple recipe. Only two ounces of hops, but they packed quite a punch. I feel the flavor is like Amarillo on steroids. Fruity, but not as citrusy as the big “C hops.” Definitely more tropical. Huge aroma, also bursting with a fruityness that matches the flavor. I wouldn’t say passion fruit though, which is what some describe it as. I think more papaya, guava, star fruit, etc. It definitely produces the type of beer you can smell from three feet away. Even my cat Miso couldn’t resist!

I also filtered this one, which had a big impact on the appearance and flavor. The American Hefe yeast left a lot of yeast in suspension, which I felt dulled the hop flavor. After removing the yeast, the hop flavor was noticeably sharper. Other than that, I don’t feel the yeast added anything significant to the beer. I think it’s safe to say you would have as good or better results with something like Safale US 05 or one of the liquid Cali ale yeasts.

It was a lot of trouble getting to this point, but worth the repeated effort. Overall, this beer is delicious, though, by design, very uni-dimensional. I think the pale ale I brewed with Citra AND Simcoe had a lot more going for it. They complement each other well, much in the same way Amarillo and Simcoe work together. The hop is, without a doubt, a very powerful aroma hop; however, I would advise against something over-the-top, as I think you might end up with fruit punch. More is not always better. Anyway, it’s an exciting new hop. Get out and try it, if you haven’t already.

OK, in a previous post, I said how pleasant it is it to eat and drink seasonally. Well, I guess when the highly-praised, revolutionary Daiya vegan cheese FINALLY makes it to Albany, I throw that philosophy out the window.

I have no idea what its origins are, but, ever since I heard a local beeradvocate friend mention making beer-cheese soup with leftover beer from tastings, I’ve wanted to give it a shot. Although it’s about four months too late for a hefty soup like this, the Daiya cheddar called out to me. So, after doing some research on the web, I’ve come up with the following veganized recipe, which you should try making when it’s depressingly cold outside. It brings you happiness like only fat and beer can.

Heat a stockpot over medium heat and add the earth balance. Add chopped onion, carrot, and celery and saute until softened (about 10 minutes). Add flour and mix into onion, carrots and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the broth and beer. Heat until it comes to a boil, then add the Daiya while stirring. Just as it’s coming to a boil again, add cashew cream, almond milk, salt, dry mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook until thickened. Add sausage to the soup and let it cook another 5 minutes.

To make eating hot soup on a warm, late-spring night more comfortable, I washed it down with a cold Victory Prima Pils outside on the deck. The soup was savory decadence. Extremely rich and creamy, with an unbelievable cheesy flavor. Also noteworthy was how much the beer really came through. The citrusy hop flavor and aroma detectable through the dense cheesy, smokey flavors truly showcases the wonderful product Troegs gets with the use of their hopback. Excellent pairing of outstanding beer and amazing vegan cheese.

This recipe involves roughly 2 million steps, which is why it has taken me so long to write it up. Making mole is, however, known to be a long, arduous process, so if you ever give it a shot – this recipe or another – plan ahead! Read through this entire recipe. Think about how you might be able to spread this out over a few days and how you can multitask when preparing the mole.

Before getting into the recipe, there are a few things you will need.

First the beer. I used homebrewed smoked porter for this recipe. A simple substitution would be a commercially brewed smoked porter, such as Stone Smoked Porter or, if you’re lucky enough to have it near you, Alaskan Smoked Porter or Captain Lawrence Smoked Porter. I used an extract batch I did, similar to my last effort. In place of the base malt, I used two 3.15lb cans of light liquid malt extract, upped the chocolate malt (1 lb chocolate wheat malt and .75 chocolate barley malt) changed up the hops (nugget for bittering and German traditional for flavor) and added 1/2lb. maltodextrin to get the residual sweetness I would have gotten from a higher mash temp.

The seitan: Make a batch of chickeny seitan sausage, and cut each “sausage” into about 1/4″ slices. Marinate these slices overnight in the awesome Veggie Works Mexican Sauce recipe that follows, then grill them up on a grill topper.

With permission from Mark Rasmussen, author of the Vegggie Works cookbook and chef at the now-closed Veggie Works restaurant in Belmar, NJ , here is the Mexican Sauce recipe:

Mix together in a saucepan and boil for about 5 minutes. If you are using this as a sauce, thicken by adding a cornstarch slurry (1 T cornstarch in 1/4 c of water) and simmer for a few more minutes. I skip the thickening part for marinade. Like every Veggie Works recipe, this is very easy to make and super delicious. I highly recommend the cookbook and check out Mark’s new company, VeggieBrothers

Now onto the mole. It’s largely based off of a veganized recipe I got from a Rick Bayless cookbook, which can be found here. I halved the original recipe and made several modifications, based on what I had on hand. I also wanted to use Organic Peruvian Aji Amarillos, which have a very interesting spicy raspberry flavor. I thought these would complement the chocolate in the mole very well.

From the long list of ingredients below, you will essentially be making four sauces, which are blended together and boiled into a paste.

1. Pull and discard stems from dried chiles and poblanos, separate the seeds from the chiles. Wearing gloves recommended.

2. Roast the poblanos directly over a gas flame, turning often, until the skins have blackened on all side, about 5 minutes (you can also roast on a baking sheet 4 inches below a broiler for about 10 minutes). Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and, when cool enough to handle, rub off the blackened skin. Set aside.

3. In an ungreased skillet, add the torn tortilla to the amarillo, limo rojo and poblano pepper seeds and burn to a charcoal black, about 15 minutes on medium heat. According to Bayless, this is a crucial step that has a significant impact on your mole’s flavor. Rinse the seed/tortilla mix in a fine mesh strainer for 30 seconds, then transfer to a blender. When ready, the mix smells like spicy coffee. Very interesting.

4. Lay the onion and garlic on a piece of aluminum foil in an ungreased skillet, roast until soft and dark (around 15 minutes) then peel the garlic.

5. Return the skillet to medium heat, add 1 cup of oil, then fry the chiles until toasted (crisp but not burnt). Be sure to turn your vent on, open any windows, etc. This makes a dangerous puff of spicy smoke.

6. Drain the chiles, them rehydrate them in a large bowl for 30 minutes. Reserve the liquid and the oil, which you will use later.

7. Spread the sesame seeds, chia seeds and nuts onto a baking sheet and roast in the oven at 350 degrees until dark brown (about 20 minutes). You may want to do the seeds on a separate sheet, as they will roast faster and may need to come out of the oven sooner.

8. Add the nuts and seeds to the blender with the chile seeds and 3/4 cup of broth, puree, then transfer to a bowl. Sauce 1 out of the way.

9. Without rinsing the blender, add the tomatoes and tomatillos plus 1/4 c broth and puree, then transfer to a bowl. Sauce 2, done.

11. Without rinsing the blender, add the amarillo, limo rojo, poblano and chipotle chiles with 1/4 cup of the soaking liquid, puree, then transfer to a bowl.

12. In a large pot, heat 2 T of reserved frying oil in medium high heat. Add tomato puree and stir/scrape until reduced and dark.

13. Add the nut puree and stir/scrape until reduced and dark.

14. Add the banana puree and stir/scrape until dark.

15. Add the chile puree and reduce over medium low heat until thick and black, about 20 minutes.

16. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of broth and add the chocolate. Partially cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

17. Stir in smoked porter and simmer for another 15 minutes.

18. Season with salt and sugar, then puree with an immersion blender or in batches in a standard blender.

Place the seitan on a bed or rice and pour a generous helping of mole sauce over this. Finally, enjoy this work-intensive meal with a side salad (lettuce, tomatoes, tomatillos, avacado, etc) and a glass of smoked porter. The flavors are incredible – nutty, spicy, coffee, chocolate, smokey, hints of pumpkin pie… I was surprised not to get much of the raspberry flavor from the amarillo chiles, but with so much going on it’s difficult to make any one flavor come out. Overall, it’s an experience worth the effort!

Spring has come early this year and my hops have noticed. I have four hop plants going strong in our community garden plot. The Chinook and Centennials are going into their fourth year and it’s the third year for the Crystal and Nugget hops.

I am especially excited to see the hops coming up early, as I have been looking forward to cooking up some hop shoots. After learning that hop shoots are eaten as a Belgian/French delicacy (known as Jets de Houblon), I wanted to try to use them in the veganyumyum recipe for pan-friend gnocchi with morels and fiddleheads. It’s a recipe I’ve made a few times and love, though in the off-season I have to substitute the fiddleheads with asparagus (and I’ve never made it with the morels, unfortunately.) The hop shoots are a prefect early-spring substitute for the fiddleheads and the recipe provided me with an excuse to cut back the hops while I get the trellis set up.

I followed the recipe as it is on veganyumyum, with a few additions/substitutions. I added some garlic and organic kalamata olives and gave it a splash of about 2tsps of white truffle oil at the end. Also, I subbed the morels with a mix of organic shiitake, shimeji, abalone and “field” mushrooms (10 oz frozen bag from Wildwood Farms.) Finally, I used about 20 6″ hop shoots in place of the fiddleheads. I prepared the hop shoots in a separate pan, blanching them in about 1/4 cup of Biere de Mars for about 5 minutes.

When the hop shoots were softened, I set them over the other ingredients in a bowl. I also pan-fried some asparagus to mix with the remaining gnocchi. It turned out to be a very tasty meal. Though I don’t think the hop shoots had a tremendous impact on the flavors, they did add an interesting touch – a mix of asparagus and the “wild” flavors and crunchy texture of fiddleheads. They had a slight bitterness (probably offset some with the sweetness of the beer), yet overall their flavor was somewhat subtle. Each ingredient added an interesting dimension and came together as a nicely balanced, highly enjoyable dish.

It was a perfect meal for a beautiful spring evening. It was enjoyed outside, paired with a very nice brett-infused saison from The Bruery, Saison Rue. The “wild” flavors of the funky farmhouse ale went incredibly well with the food and the 80 degree weather. Indeed, a delicious start to spring.